Apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy into kinetic energy or vice versa, such as a rotary multichamber vane-type motor or pumps

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy into kinetic energy and vice versa. An inner element carrying sliding vanes is mounted in an outer element defining a plurality of recesses defining variable-volume chambers with the easier element and the vanes. The elements are relatively rotatable. Inlet and outlet conduits are provided in the inner element on each side of each vane. Means including a distributor valve put independent groups of said inlet and for outlet conduits in communication with a high-pressure fluid source or a low-pressure fluid source. Means connect the housings to a source of fluid under pressure.

[ Fell. I, 11972 Unite States Patent Sauvaget ....4l8/l75Korhonen..............................4l8/l75 n n m t r I w a we n-%.mua GRDD 5 690 56667 99999 /HHHH 007576 96879 6 046 2 ,32 62 56 955 .922333 Primary Examiner-Carlton R. Croyle Assistant Examiner-Wilbur J.Goodlin Attorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [72] Inventor: GastonSauvaget, l4 Allee de lOseraie, 94

Fresnes, France Dec. 30, 1969 [22] Filed:

ABSTRACT [21] Appl. N0.:

Apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy into [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data kinetic energy and vice versa. An innerelement carrying slid- Dec. 3 1968 France ing vanes is mounted in anouter element defining a plurality of recesses defining variable-volumechambers with the easier element and the vanes. The elements arerelatively rotatable.

Inlet and outlet conduits are provided in the inner element on {52] U.S.....4l8/l75, 418/186, 4l8/249,

each side of each vane. Means including a distributor valve putindependent groups of said inlet and for outlet conduits in 0 6 N8 1 1m5 2 m9 "4 2 m5 7 1 I n/ "00 l Mn c r "a 8 S M d Ld hF UN 55communication with a high-pressure fluid source or a lowpressure fluidsource. Means connect the housings to a source of fluid under pressure.

References Cited Zll Claims, 10 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTSRe.24.252 Hog ue PAIERTED M T1912 sum 1 w a PATENTEU FEB 1 I972 SHEH 30F 4 APPARATUS FOR CONVERTTNG HYDRAULIC OR PNEUMATIC ENERGY INTO KINETICENERGY OR VICE VERSA, SUCH AS A ROTARY MULTICHAMBER VANE- TYPE MOTOR ORPUMPS The invention relates to converter devices designed to converthydraulic or pneumatic energy into kinetic energy, or vice versa, of thetype comprising a rotor and a stator and in which the inner wall of theouter element has at least two recesses capable of formingvariable-volume chambers in cooperation with the outer wall of the innerelement and vanes carried by the inner element, the inner elementcomprising at least two vanes slidable in housings and cooperating withthe wall of said recesses, a fluid inlet conduit and a fluid outletconduit being provided in the inner element respectively one side and onthe other of each vane, the number of vanes being different from thenumber of recesses, said recesses embracing an arc of a circle whoseangular extent is less than the angle between the edge of the inlet oroutlet conduit pertaining to one vane and the nearest edge of the outletor inlet conduit pertaining to the neighboring vane and the housings ofthe inner element being connected to a source offluid under pressureadapted to apply the vanes against the inner wall of the outer element.

Devicesof this type are described, in particular, in US. Pats. Nos.2,730,076 (Hogue) and 2,992,616 (Rineer). For given dimensions of theircomponents, these known devices afford only a single torque and speed atconstant fluid pressure and flow.

Rotary hydraulic motors or pumps have also been described, inparticular, in German Pats. Nos. 733,050 (Calzoni), l,2l5,532 (HartmannManufacturing Co.), in which a distributor valve is provided to put avariable number of work chambers in communication with the high-pressurefluid source and thus vary the speed or change the direction ofrotation.

These variablespeed converters are, however, very different from thetype defined hereinbefore and are incapable of affording a relativelyhigh number of speeds with low fatigue of the parts, high efficiency,and regular vibration-free operation.

The object of the invention is to provide a converter of the typedefined hereinbefore with which it is possible to vary the torque andthe speed of the rotor inversely and reverse the direction of rotation,the converter having a much simpler structure than that of know,multispeed motors or pumps and affording all the aforementionedadvantages.

According to the invention, the various inlet conduits of the innerelement and/or the various outlet conduits are divided into at least twoindependent groups which are connectable to a high-pressure fluid source(inlet in the case of a motor and outlet in the case of a brake or pump)and to a low-pressure fluid source (inlet in the case ofa brake or pumpand outlet in the case of a motor) through a distributor valve wherebyeach of the groups of conduits can be put independently in communicationwith the highpressure fluid source or with the lowpressure fluid source.

When the inlet and outlet conduits ofa given vane are both connected bythe valve to the same high-pressure or low-pressure fluid source and thepressure of the fluid exerting the thrust on the vanes is sufficientlylow, the vane does not emerge from its housing and is thereforeinoperative. The total hydraulic thrust area decreases and consequentlythe torque exerted on the rotor decreases and, at a constant power, thespeed increases. The apparatus therefore also acts as a gear box.

When the inlet and outlet pressures P, and P, are both equal to thepressure P, prevailing in the vane housing, it will be understood thatthe vane is in equilibrium and, in fact, inoperative.

Thus a vane may be rendered inoperative by placing its inlet and outletconduits in communication with the high-pressure source. ifthe pressurein the housing has a value not exceeding the value of the pressure. Itis then merely necessary to put one of the outlet or inlet conduits incommunication with the low-pressure with no need to change the pressureP,, to render the vane operative and cause the apparatus to operate as apump or motor, as the case may be.

To ensurethat the vane is placed in the inoperative position, it is alsopossible to reduce the pressure in the housing for this blade. Accordingto one embodiment, the blade housings are also divided into at least twogroups, in the same way as the inlet and/or outlet conduits of thesevanes, and these groups are connected to a high-pressure source and asource of lower pressure, for example the low-pressure source, through adistributor valve whereby each of these groups of housings can be putindependently in communication with either fluid source.

According to this embodiment, to render a vane inoperative, its inletand outlet conduits are put in communication with the high-pressuresource at the same time that its housing is put in communication withthe low-pressure source. To render it operative, the pressure in thehousing must be raised and made equal, for example, to the high pressurevalue, and one of the inlet or outlet conduits must be put incommunication with the low-pressure source.

In another embodiment, a vane may be rendered inoperative by putting itsinlet and outlet conduits in communication with the low-pressure source,if the pressure in the housing does not exceed that of the low-pressuresource. But in this case to render the vane operative the pressure inthe housing must be increased and made equal, for example, to thehighpressure value. Consequently, in this embodiment also, the vanehousings must be divided into two groups, the distributor valve enablingeach of these housing groups to be put independently in communicationwith the low-pressure source and with a higherpressure source, forexample with the high-pressure source.

To render a vane operative, one of its inlet and outlet conduits as wellas its housing have merely to be put in communication with thehigh-pressure source.

If the two groups ofinlet and/or outlet conduits do not have the samenumber of conduits, or if there are more than two independent groups,there are more than two possible speeds.

Thus, in an apparatus comprising six vanes in which the conduits aredivided into two groups, one of which interconnects the conduits of twovanes and the other the conduits of four vanes, the following can beobtained:

a maximum speed and minimum torque, with two operative vanes;

an intermediate speed and torque, with four operative vanes;

a minimum speed and maximum torque, with six operative vanes;

Likewise, with eight vanes divided into three groups, (four, two andtwo), four different speeds can be obtained. With 10 vanes divided intothree groups (six, two and two), and with 12 vanes divided into threegroups (six, four and two), five and six speeds can be obtainedrespectively.

If all the vanes are made inoperative, the apparatus operates as a freewheel. Further, the direction of rotation of the rotor is reversed byreversing the connections of the inlet and outlet conduits to thehighand low-pressure sources. Thus it is possible to obtain a motor withseveral rotational speeds in either direction. Lastly, the apparatus canact as a brake if the outlet is throttled, and as a locking device ifthis outlet is closed.

When the rotor is the outer element, it should rotate practicallywithout clearance on the inner element. Indeed, leakage increases as thethird power of clearance, so that the efficiency drops considerably ifthere is much clearance.

Bearing this in mind, the rotor can comprise two sidewallsinterconnected by crossmembers, an independent ring which has a smallcross section and a substantially constant thickness and is interposedbetween the side walls, the profile of the ring having a corrugatedshape so as to define recesses, and means comprising for example thrustscrews or eccentrics carried by the crossmembers for exerting a thruston the outer face of the ring between said recesses and thus reduce theinside diameter of the ring.

Each vane can consist of several adjoining plates with curved ends. Ithas been found that, in operation, fluid under high-pressure leaks fromthat part of the recesses connected to the inlet conduits into thechambers located between the curved ends of the plates and the innerwall of the outer element; fluid can also arrive in these chambers fromthe housings in which the vane plates are mounted. This fluid opposescorrect application of the plates on the inner wall of the outer elementand tends to render these plates inoperative.

To avoid this drawback, in the case of three vane plates, the centerplate has on each face a recess in communication with an apertureextending through the plate, each. assembly consisting of a recess andits aperture being in different planes and each end plate having anaperture facing the aperture of the center plate in communication withthe recess on the face of this center plate in contact with the thirdplate.

With this arrangement, in the case of an odd number of plates, thechamber or chambers in which the recess or recesses open are put incommunication with the low-pressure and the high-pressure on each sideof the generatrix line of contact of each of these plates firmly appliedagainst the inner wall of the rotor.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe ensuing description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a cross-sectional view of a motor;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line IIII of FIG. I showing thedistributor valve associated with the motor;

FIGS. 3 and 4 show two other positions of the distributor valve;

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view of a modification;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of a detail of a modification of therotor;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VIIVII of FIG. 10, ofadetail of the motor having multiplate vanes;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IXIX of FIG. I0, of a detailof the motor having multiplate vanes, and,

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the center plate of the multiplatevane shown in FIGS. 7 and 9.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. I and 2, which comprises six vanes 23and nine recesses 29, the outer element is the rotor. It comprises twosidewalls I and 2 which are interconnected by a series of crossmembers37. Disposed within the latter is an independent ring 38 having a wallof small section and substantially constant thickness. This ring has acorrugated profile so as to define the recesses 29.

The cross members 37 are provided with thrust screws 39 which have afine pitch and exert a thrust on the outer face of the ring 38 betweenthe inner recesses 29, that is, in the hollows of theouter recesses.These screws are locked by locknuts 40.

By an adjustment of the screws, the inner profile of the ring can bemodified so as to reduce the clearance between the rotor and the statorto a minimum in the regions between recesses 29.

An annular member 10, which constitutes the stator and is disposed inring 38, is movably mounted exactly on an eccentric part of a hub 9which is concentric with the ring 38 so that it is prevented fromrotating with respect to this hub. The stator 10 is interposed betweenwalls 1 and 2. The hub 9 is fixed 5 in a support element 14 and extendsfrom the latter. The annular member 10 comprises, on its radially innerwall, five annular grooves, 410 and 41b, 42a and 42b and 43. Annulargrooves 41a and 41b are in communication with conduits 18a and 18b boredin the hub 9 for the passage of a pressure fluid; the annular grooves42a and 42b are in communication with conduits 19a and 19b normally forthe inlet when the device operates as a motor. The annular groove 43 isin communication with a conduit 19' normally for the outlet when thedevice acts as a motor.

All the outlet conduits 26 are in communication with groove 43, On theother hand, the inlet conduits are divided into two groups 250 and b;conduits 250, which are four in number, are in communication with groove42a whereas the two other conduits 251; are in communication with groove42b. Similarly, the pressure conduits supplying a pressure fluid to vanehousings 24 are divided into two groups 44a and 44b; conduits 44a whichcorrespond to the vane provided with the inlet conduits 25a, are incommunication with groove 41a, whereas the two other conduits 44b are incommunication with groove 41b.

Conduits 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b and 19' can be put in communication with asource 45 of high-pressure fluid at a pressure P, or with a source 46 oflow-pressure fluid at a pressure P,. through a distributor valvegenerally designated by reference numeral 47.

This distributor valve comprises a body 48 in which is slidably mounteda slide valve assembly 49 which may occupy any one of four successivepositions. By suitably positioning the slide valve assembly, it ispossible to:

close or cut off conduit 19a or put it in communication with a conduit50 connected to the fluid sources through a throttling cock 51 and areversing cock 52 or with a manifold 53 connected to the reversing cock52 through a conduit 54 and throttling cock 55;

close conduit 19b or put it in communication with a conduit 56 connectedto conduit 50 or with manifold 53;

close conduit 19 or put it in communication with conduit close conduit18a or put it in communication with a manifold 57 which is connected toconduit 56 through a nonreturn valve 58 and to conduit 54 through anonreturn valve 59, or with a manifold 60 which is connected to conduit54 through a nonreturn valve 61 and to conduit 56 through a nonreturnvalve 62. The nonreturn valves 58, 59 are so arranged as to allowcirculation of the fluid when the pressure in manifold 57 is no morethan that prevailing downstream of these valves, whereas valves 61 and62 are so arranged as to allow circulation of the fluid when thepressure in manifold 60 is no less than that prevailing downstream ofthese valves;

close conduit 18b or put it in communication with manifold 60, ormanifold 63. The latter can be put in communication with conduit 54alone or with conduit 54 and manifold 57 through a three-way drain cock64.

Reference numeral 65 designates a gorging circuit connected to manifold57 through a nonreturn valve 66 which is so arranged as to allowcirculation of the fluid, when the pressure downstream of the valve islower than the gorging pressure.

The operation of the apparatus just described will be clear from thefollowing table.

TABLE Number of er Distributor allve valve Reverser Throttle PurgePressure in the conduits vanes Operation of the apparatus PositionNormal Open Normal PB P P P PB 6 Motor forward first speed. gosiiion P11:6 5. 0 3 1lxt l loior fiorwarfll atitlold spgled. osi ion 0.... 0.. a0 or orwar 1r spec l)... Position 1.... Reversed .do P: Pl. P: 6 Motorreverse first speed.

H. Position 11 do do. P P Pt 4 Motor reverse sec 0nd speed.

goshta ou III. fktlloifi go P 1:8 1 R {lloor reverse {alnrlg Speed. IiIIl I .ol I: I .tlo oio sgaf'jflao (1 d o n d d s Mgtg r lli kc af I doNormal 05 Open Reverse... 1 Pa Pa P2 P0 0 Freewheel motor.

reverse J ..do Normal Throttle Normal... Prflt Ir Pe Pr Pt Pa Pa 6 Motorforward braked. K ..do do Closed do d (1 (1 6 Motor forward locked.

In this table, P is the high-pressure (feed), P the low-pressure(outlet). Position I of the distributor valve is that shown in FIG. 3;position II is that shown in FIG. 2 and position I" is that shown inFIG. 4; in a position 0 (not shown) all the conduits are closed. Thenormal position of cock 52 is that shown in FIG. 2, its other positionbeing the reverse position. The normal position of the purging cock isthat shown in FIG. 2, its reverse position being that in which it putsmanifold 63 in communication with conduit 54 and with manifold 57.

It is clear from the table that, when the motor is in forward operation,a vane is rendered inoperative (states B and C) by connecting the threeconduits pertaining to that vane to the outlet or exhaust, whereas whenthe motor operates in reverse, it is rendered inoperative (states E andF) by connecting the associated inlet and outlet conduits to thehigh-pressure source and the housing 24 ofthe vane to the exhaust.

in states G and J, the motor is braked and is in first speed or gear,distributor valve 47 being in position I. It is also possible to brakein second or third speed, by bringing the distributor valve to positionII or III, but the braking torque is then less.

Further, the apparatus can function as a pump; a table similar to theforegoing can be drawn up, P and P, being simply interchanged in respectof conduits 44a and 44b.

The curve 78 shown in FIG. 8 shows the variation of .the motor torque(as ordinates) as a function of rotor speed abscissa] at differentspeeds. It can be seen that the power, which is represented by the curve79, is constant. The variations of pressure and flow rate, respectively,are also shown at 80 and 81. These curves show that different fluidthrust sections produce different torques for a given pressure anda'variation of speed for a given flow rate. The apparatus describedhereinbefore can therefore be fed by a pump having a capacity which is athird of that of a conventional apparatus.

It should be noted that, in all the distributor valve positionsdescribed hereinbefore, when a blade is inoperative it does not contactthe rotor wall (hence reducing wear) and no longer divides the recesses29 into two chambers. The pressure P in the cavity behind the vane thendoes not exceed the pressure prevailing the corresponding recess 29. Theinoperative vane is in equilibrium and produces no loss of hydraulicpower.

FIG. 5 shows a modification in which the positions of valves 61 and 62have been reversed. In this case, the vanes are rendered inoperative inreverse operation by putting the three conduits pertaining to a vane incommunication with the highpressure source (feed).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the thrust screws 39 have beenreplaced by eccentrics 67 integral with portions 68 which externally areshaped as hexagonal nuts. The clearance between the stator and ring 38can thus be easily regulated by turning the eccentric 67 by means of aspanner engaged on portion 68.

FIGS. 7, 9 and 10 show a vane comprising three indepen dent plates23:1,2317 and 230.

The center plate 23b comprises, on one ofits faces, a recess 72:: whichcommunicates with an aperture 69a, and, on its opposite face, a recess7212 which communicates with an aperture 6%. As can be seen in FIG. 10,recess 72a and aperture 69a are provided at one of the ends of the plateand recess 72b and its aperture 69b are provided at the opposite end ofthe plate.

Aperture 69a faces aperture 690 of plate 23c; similarly. aperture 69bfaces aperture 69a of plate 23a.

In operation, the driving fluid leaks from that portion of chamber 29under high pressure into the space or chamber 730 defined by the curvedends of plates 23b and 23c and rotor 38. This fluid can escape throughrecess 72b and apertures 69'b and 69a. Chamber 730 is then at lowpressure and the plates are applied firmly against the inner face ofrecess 29.

When the functions of conduits 25 and 26 are reversed and the rotorrotates in the opposite direction, the fluid from chamber 73a escapesthrough the recess 72a and apertures 69'a and 696.

Owing to this arrangement, the space or chamber 730 between plate 23band plate 23c adjacent the part of recess 29 in communication with theinlet conduit 25, is in communication with the outlet, whereas chamber73a between plate 23b and plate 23a is in communication with the inlet.Thus, the end of each of the plates is located between a space underhigh pressure and a space under low pressure.

Although specific embodiments of the: invention have been described,many modifications and changes may be made therein without departingfrom the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

Iclaim:

I. An apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy intokinetic energy, or vice versa, comprising a rotor and stator, in whichthe internal wall of the external element has at least two recessescapable of forming, in cooperation with the external wall of theinternal element and the vanes carried by this internal element,chambers with a variable volume, in which the internal element comprisesat least two vanes sliding into housings and cooperating with the wallof said recesses, an inlet line and an exhaust line for fluid beingprovided in the internal element respectively on either side of eachvane, the number of vanes being different from that of the recesses,these recesses embracing an arc of a circle which extends over an anglewhich is smaller than that existing between the edge of the inlet orexhaust .line relative to a vane and the edge which is nearest to theexhaust or inlet line relative to the neighboring vane, and in which thehousings of the internal element are connected to a source of fluidunder pressure resulting in the application of the vanes against theinternal wall of the external element, said apparatus beingcharacterized in that the different inlet lines of the internal elementand/or its different exhaust lines are subdivided into at least twoindependent groups which are connected to a high-pressure fluid source(inlet in the case of the motor and exhaust in the case of the brake orpump and exhaust in the case of the motor) through a distributor valvemaking it possible to independently put in communication each of thegroups of lines with the highpressure fluid source or with the flowpressure fluid source.

uni/n1 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributorvalve is adapted to put the inlet and outlet conduits of the vanesimultaneously in communication with the high-pressure source, the vanehousings being constantly in communication with the high-pressuresource.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vane housings areequally divided into at least two groups, in the same way as the inletand/or outlet conduits of said vanes said groups being connected to thehigh-pressure source and to a source of lower pressure, for example, thelow-pressure source, through a distributor valve whereby each of saidhousing groups can be put independently in communication with eitherfluid source, a vane being rendered inoperative by putting said inletand outlet conduits in communication with the high-pressure source, atthe same time that its housing is put in communication with thelow-pressure source.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vane housings areequally divided into at least two groups, in the same way as the inletand/or outlet conduits of said vanes, said groups being connected to thelow-pressure source and to a source of higher pressure, for example, tothe high-pressure source, through a distributor valve whereby each ofsaid housing groups can be put independently in communication witheither fluid source, a vane being rendered inoperative by putting itsinlet and outlet conduits and its housings in communication with thelow-pressure source.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributor valvecomprises means for putting all the housings in communication with thelow-pressure source and thus rendering all the vanes inoperative.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributor valve isassociated with a reversing cock for interchanging the high-pressure andlow-pressure fluid sources.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributor valve isassociated with a throttling cock for limiting the low-pressure fluidflow rates.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is locatedoutside the stator and comprises two sidewalls interconnected bycrossmembers, an independent ring which has a small cross section andconstant thickness and is interposed between the crossmembers and had aprofile having a corrugated shape so as to define the recesses, andmeans carried by the crossmembers and adapted to exert a thrust on theouter face of the ring in regions of the ring between said recesses.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each vane comprises threevane plates and the center plate comprises, on each of its faces, arecess which is in communication with an aperture extending through thecenter plate, each assembly consisting of a recess and its aperturebeing in different planes and each of the end plates comprising anaperture facing the aperture in the center plate in communication withthe recess in the face of said center plate in contact with the recessin the face of said center plate in contact with the third plate.

18. An apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy intokinetic energy and vice versa, comprising: an outer element and an innerelement which are relatively rotatable about an axis, one of saidelements constituting a rotor and the other of said elementsconstituting a stator, said inner element comprising a plurality ofhousings and an outer face, a plurality of vane means respectivelyslidably mounted in said housings, said outer element having an innerface which said vane means are capable of contacting and which defines aplurality of recesses capable of defining with said outer face of saidinner element and said vane means variable volume chambers, said innerelement comprising a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduitrespectively on one side and on an opposite other side of each vanemeans, one of said conduits constituting an outlet conduit, the numberof vane means being different from the number of recesses, each recessoccupying an arc of a circle which angularly extends relative to saidaxis an extent less than the angle subtented at said axis by an edge ofthe first conduit pertaining to one vane means and a nearest edge of thesecond conduit pertaining to a neighboring vane means, means connectingsaid housings to a source of fluid under pressure for applying said vanemeans against said inner face of said outer element, means dividing saidfirst conduits into a plurality of independent first conduit groups andmeans including a distributor valve for putting said independent groupsindependently in communication selectively with a high-pressure fluidsource and a low-pressure fluid source.

11. An apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy intokinetic energy and vice versa, comprising: an outer element and an innerelement which are relatively rotatable about an axis, one of saidelements constituting a rotor and the other of said elementsconstituting a stator, said inner element comprising a plurality ofhousings and an outer face, a plurality of vane means respectivelyslidably mounted in said housings, said outer element having an innerface which said vane means are capable of contacting and which defines aplurality of recesses capable of defining with said outer face of saidinner element and said vane means variablevolume chambers, said innerelement comprising a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduitrespectively on one side an on an opposite other side of each vanemeans, one of said conduits constituting an inlet conduit and the otherof said conduits constituting an outlet conduit, the number of vanemeans being different from the number of recesses, each recess occupyingan arc of a circle which angularly extends relative to said axis anextent less than the angle subtented at said axis by an edge of thefirst conduit pertaining to one vane means and a nearest edge of thesecond conduit pertaining to a neighboring vane means, means connectingsaid housings to a source of fluid under pressure for applying said vanemeans against said inner face of said outer element, means dividing saidfirst conduits and said second conduits respectively into a plurality ofindependent first conduit groups and independent second conduit groupsand means including a distributor valve for putting said independentgroups independently in communication selectively with a high-pressurefluid source and a lowpressure fluid source.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1], wherein said distributor valveis adapted to put said inlet conduits and said outlet conduitssimultaneously in communication with said high-pressure source, saidhousings being in constant com munication with said high-pressuresource.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprising means dividing saidhousings into a plurality of independent housing groups, means includinga distributor valve for putting said housing groups independently incommunication selectively of lower pressure whereby a vane means can berendered inoperative by putting the corresponding first and secondconduits in communication with said high-pressure source at the sametime as the housing of the vane means is put in communication with saidsource of lower pressure.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprising means dividing saidhousings into a plurality of independent housing groups, means includinga distributor valve for putting said housing groups independently incommunication selectively with said low-pressure source and a source ofhigher pressure than said low-pressure source, whereby a vane means canbe rendered inoperative by putting the corresponding first and secondconduits and its housing in communication with said low-pressure source.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said distributor valvecomprises means for putting all said housings in communication with saidlow-pressure source whereby all said vane means can be renderedinoperative,

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said distributor valveis associated with a reversing cock for interchanging said high-pressuresource and said low-pressure source.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said distributor valveis associated with a throttle cock for limiting the rate of flow offluid from said low-pressure fluid source.

18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said rotor is the outerelement and comprises two sidewalls, crossmembers arranged around saidaxis and interconnecting said side walls, an independent ring having asmall radial sectional size and a substantially constant thicknessinterposed between said walls within said crossmembers, said ring havinga profile of corrugated shape defining a plurality of recesses, andthrust means carried by said crossmembers for exerting a thrust on anouter face of said ring in regions thereof between said recesses,

19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said thrust means areadjustable thrust-exerting screw means.

20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said thrust meanscomprise rotatable eccentric members carried by said crossmernbers.

21, An apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy intokinetic energy and vice versa, comprising: an outer element and an innerelement which are relatively rotatable about an axis, one of saidelements constituting a rotor and the other of said elementsconstituting a stator, said inner element comprising a plurality ofhousings and an outer face, a plurality of vane means respectivelyslidably mounted in said housings, said outer element having an innerface which said vane means are capable of contacting and which defines aplurality of recesses capable of defining with said outer face of saidinner element and said vane means variable volume chambers, said innerelement comprising a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduitrespectively on one side and on an opposite other side of each vanemeans, one of said conduits constituting an outlet conduit, the numberof vane means being different from the number of recesses, each recessoccupying an arc of a circle which angularly extends relative to saidaxis an extent less than the angle subtented at said axis by an edge ofthe first conduit pertaining to one vane means and a nearest edge of thefirst conduit pertaining to a neighboring vane means, means connectingsaid housings to a source of fluid under pressure for applying said vanemeans against said inner face of said outer element, means dividing saidfirst conduits into a plurality of independent first conduit groups andmeans including a distributor valve for putting said independent groupsindependently in communication selec tively with a high-pressure fluidsource and low-pressure fluid source, each vane means comprising threevane plates in adjoining relation, a center plate of said platescomprising two opposed faces in contact with two other plates of saidplates, each of said center plates having a recess communicating with anaperture extending through said center plate, each assembly consistingof a plate face recess and the associated aperture being in differentplanes, each of said two other plates comprising an aperture in facingrelation to said aperture of said center plate and in communication withthe corresponding recess in said center plate face.

1. An apparatus for converting hydraulic or pneumatic energy intokinetic energy, or vice versa, comprising a rotor and stator, in whichthe internal wall of the external element has at least two recessescapable of forming, in cooperation with the external wall of theinternal element and the vanes carried by this internal element,chambers with a variable volume, in which the internal element comprisesat least two vanes sliding into housings and cooperating with the wallof said recesses, an inlet line and an exhaust line for fluid beingprovided in the internal element respectively on either side of eachvane, the number of vanes being different from that of the recesses,these recesses embracing an arc of a circle which extends over an anglewhich is smaller than that existing between the edge of the inlet orexhaust line relative to a vane and the edge which is nearest to theexhaust or inlet line relative to the neighboring vane, and in which thehousings of the internal element are connected to a source of fluidunder pressure resulting in the application of the vanes against theinternal wall of the external element, said apparatus beingcharacterized in that the different inlet lines of the internal elementand/or its different exhaust lines are subdivided into at least twoindependent groups which are connected to a high-pressure fluid source(inlet in the case of the motor and exhaust in the case of the brake orpump and exhaust in the case of the motor) through a distributor valvemaking it possible to independently put in communication each of thegroups of lines with the high-pressure fluid source or with the flowpressure fluid source.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedistributor valve is adapted to put the inlet and outlet conduits of thevane simultaneously in communication with the high-pressure source, thevane housings being constantly in communication with the high-pressuresource.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vane housingsare equally divided into at least two groups, in the same way as theinlet and/or outlet conduits of said vanes said groups being connectedto the high-pressure source and to a source of lower pressure, forexample, the low-pressure source, through a distributor valve wherebyeach of said housing groups can be put independently in communicationwith either fluid source, a vane being rendered inoperative by puttiNgsaid inlet and outlet conduits in communication with the high-pressuresource, at the same time that its housing is put in communication withthe low-pressure source.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe vane housings are equally divided into at least two groups, in thesame way as the inlet and/or outlet conduits of said vanes, said groupsbeing connected to the low-pressure source and to a source of higherpressure, for example, to the high-pressure source, through adistributor valve whereby each of said housing groups can be putindependently in communication with either fluid source, a vane beingrendered inoperative by putting its inlet and outlet conduits and itshousings in communication with the low-pressure source.
 5. An apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the distributor valve comprises means forputting all the housings in communication with the low-pressure sourceand thus rendering all the vanes inoperative.
 6. An apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the distributor valve is associated with a reversingcock for interchanging the high-pressure and low-pressure fluid sources.7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributor valve isassociated with a throttling cock for limiting the low-pressure fluidflow rates.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor islocated outside the stator and comprises two sidewalls interconnected bycrossmembers, an independent ring which has a small cross section andconstant thickness and is interposed between the crossmembers and had aprofile having a corrugated shape so as to define the recesses, andmeans carried by the crossmembers and adapted to exert a thrust on theouter face of the ring in regions of the ring between said recesses. 9.An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each vane comprises three vaneplates and the center plate comprises, on each of its faces, a recesswhich is in communication with an aperture extending through the centerplate, each assembly consisting of a recess and its aperture being indifferent planes and each of the end plates comprising an aperturefacing the aperture in the center plate in communication with the recessin the face of said center plate in contact with the recess in the faceof said center plate in contact with the third plate.
 11. An apparatusfor converting hydraulic or pneumatic eNergy into kinetic energy andvice versa, comprising: an outer element and an inner element which arerelatively rotatable about an axis, one of said elements constituting arotor and the other of said elements constituting a stator, said innerelement comprising a plurality of housings and an outer face, aplurality of vane means respectively slidably mounted in said housings,said outer element having an inner face which said vane means arecapable of contacting and which defines a plurality of recesses capableof defining with said outer face of said inner element and said vanemeans variable-volume chambers, said inner element comprising a firstfluid conduit and a second fluid conduit respectively on one side an onan opposite other side of each vane means, one of said conduitsconstituting an inlet conduit and the other of said conduitsconstituting an outlet conduit, the number of vane means being differentfrom the number of recesses, each recess occupying an arc of a circlewhich angularly extends relative to said axis an extent less than theangle subtented at said axis by an edge of the first conduit pertainingto one vane means and a nearest edge of the second conduit pertaining toa neighboring vane means, means connecting said housings to a source offluid under pressure for applying said vane means against said innerface of said outer element, means dividing said first conduits and saidsecond conduits respectively into a plurality of independent firstconduit groups and independent second conduit groups and means includinga distributor valve for putting said independent groups independently incommunication selectively with a high-pressure fluid source and alow-pressure fluid source.
 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11,wherein said distributor valve is adapted to put said inlet conduits andsaid outlet conduits simultaneously in communication with saidhigh-pressure source, said housings being in constant communication withsaid high-pressure source.
 13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11,comprising means dividing said housings into a plurality of independenthousing groups, means including a distributor valve for putting saidhousing groups independently in communication selectively of lowerpressure whereby a vane means can be rendered inoperative by putting thecorresponding first and second conduits in communication with saidhigh-pressure source at the same time as the housing of the vane meansis put in communication with said source of lower pressure.
 14. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 11, comprising means dividing saidhousings into a plurality of independent housing groups, means includinga distributor valve for putting said housing groups independently incommunication selectively with said low-pressure source and a source ofhigher pressure than said low-pressure source, whereby a vane means canbe rendered inoperative by putting the corresponding first and secondconduits and its housing in communication with said low-pressure source.15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said distributor valvecomprises means for putting all said housings in communication with saidlow-pressure source whereby all said vane means can be renderedinoperative.
 16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein saiddistributor valve is associated with a reversing cock for interchangingsaid high-pressure source and said low-pressure source.
 17. An apparatusas claimed in claim 10, wherein said distributor valve is associatedwith a throttle cock for limiting the rate of flow of fluid from saidlow-pressure fluid source.
 18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10,wherein said rotor is the outer element and comprises two sidewalls,crossmembers arranged around said axis and interconnecting said sidewalls, an independent ring having a small radial sectional size and asubstantially constant thickness interposed between said walls withinsaid crossmembers, said ring having a profile of corrugated shapedefining a plurality of recesses, and thrust means carried by saidcrossmembers for exerting a thrust on an outer face of said ring inregions thereof between said recesses.
 18. An apparatus for convertinghydraulic or pneumatic energy into kinetic energy and vice versa,comprising: an outer element and an inner element which are relativelyrotatable about an axis, one of said elements constituting a rotor andthe other of said elements constituting a stator, said inner elementcomprising a plurality of housings and an outer face, a plurality ofvane means respectively slidably mounted in said housings, said outerelement having an inner face which said vane means are capable ofcontacting and which defines a plurality of recesses capable of definingwith said outer face of said inner element and said vane means variablevolume chambers, said inner element comprising a first fluid conduit anda second fluid conduit respectively on one side and on an opposite otherside of each vane means, one of said conduits constituting an outletconduit, the number of vane means being different from the number ofrecesses, each recess occupying an arc of a circle which angularlyextends relative to said axis an extent less than the angle subtented atsaid axis by an edge of the first conduit pertaining to one vane meansand a nearest edge of the second conduit pertaining to a neighboringvane means, means connecting said housings to a source of fluid underpressure for applying said vane means against said inner face of saidouter element, means dividing said first conduits into a plurality ofindependent first conduit groups and means including a distributor valvefor putting said independent groups independently in communicationselectively with a high-pressure fluid source and a low-pressure fluidsource.
 19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said thrustmeans are adjustable thrust-exerting screw means.
 20. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 18, wherein said thrust means comprise rotatableeccentric members carried by said crossmembers.
 21. An apparatus forconverting hydraulic or pneumatic energy into kinetic energy and viceversa, comprising: an outer element and an inner element which arerelatively rotatable about an axis, one of said elements constituting arotor and the other of said elements constituting a stator, said innerelement comprising a plurality of housings and an outer face, aplurality of vane means respectively slidably mounted in said housings,said outer element having an inner face which said vane means arecapable of contacting and which defines a plurality of recesses capableof defining with said outer face of said inner element and said vanemeans variable volume chambers, said inner element comprising a firstfluid conduit and a second fluid conduit respectively on one side and onan opposite other side of each vane means, one of said conduitsconstituting an outlet conduit, the number of vane means being differentfrom the number of recesses, each recess occupying an arc of a circlewhich angularly extends relative to said axis an extent less than theangle subtented at said axis by an edge of the first conduit pertainingto one vane means and a nearest edge of the first conduit pertaining toa neighboring vane means, means connecting said housings to a source offluid under pressure for applying said vane means against said innerface of said outer element, means dividing said first conduits into aplurality of independent first conduit groups and means including adistributor valve for putting said independent groups independently incommunication selectively with a high-pressure fluid source andlow-pressure fluid source, each vane means comprising three vane platesin adjoining relation, a center plate of said plates comprising twoopposed faces in contact with two other plates of said plates, each ofsaid center plates having a recess communicating with an apertureextending through said center plate, each assembly consisting of a plateface recess and the associated aperture being in different planes, eachof said two other plates comprising an aperture in facing relation tosaid aperture of said center plate and in communication with thecorresponding recess in said center plate face.